Friday, May 22, 2009

The dandylions are all over the country now. It´s actully over 50 species of them here, but they look so similar that one has to be an expert to separate them. In Italy they have a special sort used as lettuce and another to make oil of. Young leafs are actully quite tasty.
One of my absolute favourite stories is “The wind in the willows”, but there is one more I like almost as much and yesterday they showed a movie on tv based on that book. I´m talking about “Charlottes web”. First time I came in contact with that story was 1974 I think. It was the animated movie that came the year before. I love that story but I can never again see it to the end. I just can´t stand Charlotte dying, just thinking of it makes me sad :-) :-) Strange how a story can get such a grip on me. I was ten years old when I saw that movie and I cried so much when Charlotte was gone that we almost had to leave the movie theatre and I´m just the same today :-) :-)

The seeds spread everywhere as soon as the lightest wind catches them. Sometimes it looks like it´s snowing in strong daylight :-)
I went to the doctor today to do my right hip check and to talk about my left hip that rather rapidly is going down the drains. I got a new doctor this time, my old one is slowly going in to retirement. So he tested my leg and knee (that gets damage since I´m walking in the wrong way) looked at the x-ray they had on the hip and they thought it looked really bad. Then he and my old doctor decided that we are going to take some extra x-rays on my left hip and on my knee. When that is done we will start talking about operating my hip. With a bit of luck it will happen this autumn :-) :-)

Claytonia sibirica, a nice little plant that is said to be a weed. But here it´s fighting to stay alive.

Strange weather here today. Some minutes sun, some just clody or rain and hail. But at least the wind is rather nice :-) It´s a bit troublesome to take walks with my dogs then. If the sun shines it´s to hot to have a rain jacket on and it´s kind of boring to carry it around if the rain doesn´t come. If it hails I must have a sweater, but it´s to hot to have that if it´s just raining or is sunny. Oh these problems life can give us :-) :-) Well it´s time for a cup of tea and then look at wat can be on tv tonight.
Have a great day now!

Nine or ten years agoo I found two seeds in a Granny Smith apple that already had started to germinate. I planted them and now I have two little trees in my garden and one just got its first flowers. Granny Smith isn´t hardy in Sweden so I wonder why these are in the cold climate we have here. I don´t think that there will be any fruit on it, because I don´t know what sort pollinates it and our crabapple tree doesn´t flower this year.

18 comments:

jaz@octoberfarm said...

hi christer....i am the same way about charlotte. i just made the awful mistake and watched "marley and me". it took me days to get over it and i am never watching it again. i lost my dog 4 years ago and it almost did me in. now i am so attached to the new one that i just can't think sad dog thoughts. on a better note, i just found the most incredible blog and i thought you might like it since you like nature so much. check out:
simonsninefootreef.blogspot.com

this guy, simon, built a 9 foot salt water reef in his living room. it is unreal. he shows close ups of everything he has growing in it. i don't like snorkeling or swimming in the ocean. too many scary things in there for me. but this is a safe way to see all the really cool stuff!! joyce

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi joyce!
I have the book Marley and me and the ending is so sad that I skip it when reading it :-) :-) But the rest is pure joy to read:-) Marley reminds me of my old dog Viran.

She destroyed my friends garage door when she was there for twenty minutes :-) My friends was going to have companie later that day and they were alergic to dogs, so we thought she could be in their garage for the short time I was there :-) :-)

I always have more than one dog because I can´t stand the day when it´s time for them to go.

I´ll check out his blog now, it sounds greate!
Christer.

Valerie said...

Greetings and Salutations, Christer! ;)

Dandelions can be such a nuisance, and yet my little garden girl finds such delight in them! We pick them and make wreaths for her hair. She loves to tuck them behind my ears!

Oh...I LOVE Charlotte's Web. I remember receiving my very own copy in the 3rd grade (1978) I still have it to this day and when I was teaching (Charlotte's Web is part of our 3rd grade core literature)I would display my cherished copy for my students to see how much literature from their childhood can stay with them! Someday, when I return to the classroom, I will have to share your sweet story! (I have had more than 1 boy on occassion tear up when Charlotte dies!)

Love your Granny Smith tree! That's exciting that it has survived thus far!

Blessings to you,
Valerie

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Valerie!
I looked at most of the movie on tv, but when the ending came closer I had to change channel. I was already starting to sob :-) :-)

There are so many dandylions here that it isn´t any use to try to get rid of them, so my lawn is filled with flowering dandylions most all of the summer :-) They are really beautiful and helps all bees and bumblebees even if weather is bad.

It would be fun if I at least got one apple to eat. Perhaps it´s delicious and perhaps its sour as a lemon, but it would be fun anyway :-)
Have a great day now!
Christer.

Anonymous said...

Hi Christer,

I've actually never read or seen Wind in the Willows. I think I'd like to rent it on Netflix. Is the one you like the animated one from 1986? There were several listed.

Thanks,

Linda in Chapel Hill

jaz@octoberfarm said...

hi christer. glad you checked out the coral reef. i am amazed by it. i wrote to simon and asked him about it. he said he always wanted a salt water aquarium but traveled. as soon as he retired he started this. he said he is planning a bigger one in a few years but hasn't told his wife yet...uh oh!!!! long long ago we had a very small one and it was very difficult to take care of. i am going to have fun watching his grow! it is memorial day weekend here, the true beginning of summer. i am making potato salad, cole slaw and smoked ribs. i think i will make homemade strawberry ice cream too! joyce

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Linda!
When it comes to The wind in the willows it´s absolutly the book. But the first time I watched it on tv it was a man reading directly from the book and we got to see the pictures in tv. The man reading was so good at it that I had to read the book.

I can´t remember wich of the films I like the best, but I think most made from that book is good.

When it comes to Charlottes web I always will put the animated movie from 1973 as number one.
Have a great day now!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi joyce!
His reef is astonishing! Wish I could have something like that here, but I´m not sure my floor can keep the weight from it because it´s built 1911 :-)

That food sounds delicious! We don´t have memorial day here, but good food is always welcome anyway :-) It´s to early for strawberries here. Either it´s spanish or grown in greehouses we can get here, neither of them are especially good to be honest. But when ours are ready they are the sweetest You can imagine :-) They become so sweet because we have so much daylight here in summer and the sun makes them filled with sugar :-)
Christer.

NinaVästerplana said...

Hej Christer! För att öka på sorgligheterna så måste jag tyvärr tala om att en av shersminerna har gett upp! Den kom så fint i våras men nu är den stendöd.... Vet tyvärr inte vilken av dom.... namnlapparna har blåst omkring o är dessutom nästan oläsbara....
Men den andra ser fin ut... det är den som hade börjat grena sig.
Det får bli ett woodland först, så får jag se var jag hamnar med våtbädden.... men OK, jag skippar väl pressenningen då.
Ha´t himla gôtt
Nina

Anonymous said...

I love Charlotte and cry too but that's what I think you're suppose to do. She wraps her arms around you and the movie teaches some wonderful lessons in life.

Soooo are you talking two hip replacements now? I haven't heard anyone getting both done at the same time. I remember my neighbor had one done and his wife who is in her early 70's complained he was a lot to care for but naturally she's not as young anymore either. They should have planned for some day care help but didn't. Let us know what the plans are. You will also need the help of friends to care for your pets. Good luck with that and how's the car purchase coming along?

Kat said...

Christer,
The Wind in the Willows is one of my all time favorite books. Even now I pick it up and read it every now and then.

I read Charlotte's Web when I was an adult, and it struck me the same way. I couldn't believe Charlotte was going to die. Poor Wilbur was losing such a dear, dear friend.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hej Nina!

Här gick ju frosten hårt åt mina sådana schersminer, så de ser helt döda ut. Men jag låter dem stå sommaren ut innan jag tar bort dem. Det kan ta sin tid innan de visar livstecken igen nämligen.

Fast du kan omöjligt göra en våtbädd utan att göra någon form av bassäng, antingen med pressenning eller annat. Men en torvbädd blir det ju alltid ändå :-)
Ha det gott nu!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Z&M!
Yes I suppose that the writer wants us to cry :-)

No, not two hipreplacements. I´m already fixed in my right hip but with an experimental procedure. Because of that I have to check it out every second year. I don´t have a total hip replacement, instead I have implants. Instead of cutting my hipbone of and put a replacement, instead they have just taken away the grid on my hip parts and replaced it with surfaces of titanium. They are going to do so with my left hip too. I´m to young to get a hipreplacement becuse I´m to active in my age and it would break in ten years time.

I´ve already planned everything so I will get help with my dogs and cats. The good thing with this operation is that I can walk around just five days after it´s done. I´m allowed to drive my car after 3-4 weeks and I´m back to work after three months. And I´ll fill the freezer with food :-)
Have a great day now!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Kat!
Sometimes when walking down the creek I can imagine Mr Rat out there on a little boat :-) We also have a couple of castles here, so in one of them Mr Toad lives :-)

The funny thing is that I in those day suffered from arachnafobia and still her death makes me so sad :-) It doesn´t help much that her doughters takes over either :-)
Have a great day now!
Christer.

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

My children watched it...I remember them being upset..but it was so many years ago. At first I thought I would watch it..now I have doubts. I know Charlotte dies in the end...so..I'll pass.

What..if..you actually got an apple or two off that tree..how exciting that would be.
Your camera is taking wonderful pictures, Christer!

Isn't there even wine made from Dandilions? They are a strange little weed and even as an adult I like to gently pick them and watch the little seeds fly away...nice.
Have a peaceful weekend Christer..

Oh..Frank my late husband had a hip replacement..after he healed he was like new. :)
Mona

Balisha said...

Hi Christer,
Charlotte's Web is one of our favorites too. It teaches kids lessons without them knowing it. I wish you luck with your medical problems. My 86 yr. old aunt had hip surgery and did well after it...with therapy. You'll probably feel so much better after taking care of it. Your pictures are great.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Mona!
If You easily starts to cry when watching sad movies, don´t see it :-) But it is a fantastic story and it´s worth seeing even if one cry like a baby :-)

Cross Yor finger for an apple or two :-) They might be very good, or nor :-)I´m very satisfied with my new camera.

I´ve never tasted dandylion wine, but it is said to be a bit to sweet by people that has tested it. But I have had it´s leafs in sallads :-)

Yes, one really becoms as a new person! This method that they do on me does that I can work full time already after three months!
Have a great day now!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Balisha!
Yes it´s great that way too!

The method they do on me is easier for the body so I´m totally ok after three months. But the bone density must be thick, so they don´t do it on people older than 55. So now I have to x-ray again so they can make a date for the operation.
Have a great day now!
Christer.